


Defiance and Gravity

by chockfullofsecrets



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Tickling, fun with magic, i needed caleb to have some fun with dunamancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:02:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29793720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chockfullofsecrets/pseuds/chockfullofsecrets
Summary: Veth’s eyes widen. “Oh! Oh, that’s amazing! You figured it out? Reverse engineered it?”“Well.” Caleb see-saws a hand back and forth. “That is where you come in.”Veth and Caleb test out some new magic.
Relationships: Nott | Veth Brenatto & Caleb Widogast, Nott | Veth Brenatto/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 6
Kudos: 38





	Defiance and Gravity

“Veth,” Caleb calls, triumphantly insistent in the way he gets with little else but magic, “come here, let me try something.”

She trots over obligingly and scales the chair he pushes over to her, eyes the unfamiliar symbols spread out over his desk. “That’s not your usual magic, is it?”

“No, it is not - that’s a good eye though, Veth, very good.” 

From anyone else, it would be patronizing. She looks away from the complete sincerity of his pleased expression and waves him off before she can think better of it. “I can’t even tell what it does.”

“Few born in the Empire could,” Caleb tells her, cramming some loose strands of hair behind his ear with one hand and gesturing pointedly at inked symbols with the other. “I believe I’ve managed to glean some dunamantic insights from our friend Essek, despite his best attempts.”

“Oh!” She squints. “It’s… about time?”

“Ah, not this one. This has to do with gravity. See this here, it creates a radial force rather than linear-”

“What’s gravity?”

“Hm?” Caleb blinks. “Oh, it’s hard to explain, but it does-” He holds a hand open and makes a crushing motion with it. “The _Vollstrucker_ in the prison, remember?”

Veth’s eyes widen. “Oh! Oh, that’s amazing! You figured it out? Reverse engineered it?”

“Well.” Caleb see-saws a hand back and forth. “That is where you come in.”

The excitement fades quickly, and Veth crosses her arms. “You’re going to do that to _me_?”

“No!” he exclaims, waving off her indignation. “I’m only testing part of it - the part that exerts a force on a living being, willing or unwilling, and with much less strength.” He eyes her, suddenly uncertain. “Of course, you do not have to - it’s pretty late, maybe you want to rest, or if you think it is too dangerous-”

Veth rolls her eyes, uncrosses her arms. “No, no, Caleb, of course I want to help you. What do I do?”

Caleb’s smile is a small, quiet thing, but Veth is indescribably proud every time she sees it. “Veth the Brave, as always. Just stand on the desk here, come here.”

She slips her boots off and scrambles up, holding her arms wide in expectation. “Okay, hit me.”

Caleb palms a marble off the desk and waves it - dramatically, she thinks - in a circle, muttering something under his breath, and then - 

Her back hits the ceiling, her heels thudding against it a moment later, and she gasps for a moment before scrambling to catch a button that tumbles from her pocket. “Hey!”

Caleb, tilting his head back from his safe position on the floor, looks up at her. “Well, it would appear that portion of it works.”

“Of course it does, Caleb, you’re brilliant.” Veth beams at him. “I mean, even without the crushing bit - if I’m on the ceiling I don’t even have to check for traps!”

“You should _always_ check for traps,” Caleb scolds mildly, “but that is a good idea - in that case, we should workshop it a little.” He drags the chair over and stands on it to get closer, batting away one of her braids as it tickles the top of his head. “It’s not too strong, is it? Can you move at all?”

In response, Veth reaches out and flicks him in the forehead. “Psh, of course I can! Could probably shoot from here too.”

Caleb nods. “Alright, then just one more thing - I want to be sure that it works on those who are not willing, so try and get down.”

Veth stretches her legs half-heartedly to the floor and kicks. “Oh no, woe is me, if only I could be a tiny short person on the ground again-”

Caleb _tsk_ s. “You’re not trying hard enough.”

“It’s fun up here! Maybe you should do this to Fjord instead, I’m sure _he_ would be crying like a baby-”

If Caleb’s smile is rare, Caleb’s _mischievous_ smile is even rarer. “Here, let me help.”

“How-” Veth says, and then squawks indignantly as Caleb grabs one of her ankles with the fingers of his other hand wriggling ominously in a threat she’s all too familiar with administering. “No! No tickling, Cay, don’t you _dare_ -”

Veth knows she’s never been much of a giggler - still, even she’s surprised at how desperately she shrieks with laughter the moment that Caleb’s fingers zip up the arch of her foot. “ _Hn_ \- noHOHO! HAH!” She reaches for his face, intent on doing _something_ , but he just ducks out of the way - is this how tall people feel? - and tickles a fingertip right between two of her toes instead. “ _Eee_ \- heh - EHEHE! Cahahay!”

“Ready to come down, Veth the Brave?” he teases. He’s laughing, she _knows_ he is, and the fact that she can’t see it with his head below her almost frustrates her more than the unbearable feeling dancing its way across her soles. “I’ll stop if you’re on the ground-”

He slows his attack, as if to make sure she doesn’t have anything to say in return, and Veth stops cackling just long enough to tell him to go fuck himself. 

_That_ makes him tug her halfway off the ceiling and dig his skinny hands into her belly instead, squishing her like she’s one of Luc’s cloth dolls, and it tickles so badly that she can feel tears leaking from her eyes as she wails with laughter. “ _Ah - ha -_ HAH! Okay, oka-hay, I’ll do it-”

Suddenly, the assault stops. “ _Scheiße_ , alright, the spell is almost through - let me just -”

Veth blinks the tears from her eyes as Caleb abruptly lets go and she plops back onto the ceiling. “I got it,” she wheezes, and whips a feather out to cast Feather Fall on herself. “I - _heh_ \- I think maybe you shouldn’t get feather privileges, you’re worse than _Jester_.”

She hears Caleb huff sheepishly as she drifts down and sprawls onto the floor, and when she cracks her eyes open again he’s kneeling beside her with a look that’s distinctly amused no matter how hard he’s trying to hide it. “As if you haven’t done worse to me.”

Veth braces her feet against the floor, slipping the feather that she hasn’t bothered to put away into her palm. “Oh, really? Then maybe this won’t be the worst tickling you’ve ever had in your entire life.”

“What - _wait_ -”

She doesn’t even need to sneak attack.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you're so inclined, come say hi on [tumblr](https://chockfullofsecrets.tumblr.com)!


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